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1 This article was downloaded by: [Adams, Tony] On: 23 July 2010 Access details: Access Details: [subscription number ] Publisher Routledge Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: Registered office: Mortimer House, Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK Communication Teacher Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: Why Video Killed the Radio Star : Teaching The Medium is the Message Tony E. Adams Online publication date: 23 July 2010 To cite this Article Adams, Tony E.(2010) 'Why Video Killed the Radio Star : Teaching The Medium is the Message ', Communication Teacher, 24: 3, To link to this Article: DOI: / URL: PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Full terms and conditions of use: This article may be used for research, teaching and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, re-distribution, re-selling, loan or sub-licensing, systematic supply or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contents will be complete or accurate or up to date. The accuracy of any instructions, formulae and drug doses should be independently verified with primary sources. The publisher shall not be liable for any loss, actions, claims, proceedings, demand or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of this material.

2 Communication Teacher Vol. 24, No. 3, July 2010, pp Why Video Killed the Radio Star : Teaching The Medium is the Message Tony E. Adams Courses: Introduction to Communication, Persuasion, Communication Theory Objective: Students will demonstrate understanding of Marshall McLuhan s aphorism The Medium is the Message Rationale Susan Boyle*a contestant on the television program Britain s Got Talent. Looking homely and, thus, believed not to have much vocal talent, Boyle amazes judges and viewers around the world with a passionate and powerful performance; her (unappealing) appearance and (appealing) voice create dissonance among many audiences. Boyle immediately receives numerous celebrity endorsements, offers for dates, an appearance on Oprah, and invited to star in a pornography film. She also begins to improve her appearance but is soon critiqued for doing too much and going too far*for wearing too much makeup, dyeing her hair, getting a tan, and dressing in nice clothes. Boyle s situation is significant because audiences found her image, not talent, at stake. But such criticism is not unique to Boyle. Social commentators have referred to musicians like Jessica Simpson, Britney Spears, Kanye West, Elvis Presley, and Mama Cass as fat. Some audiences criticized Aretha Franklin for wearing a decorative hat at Barack Obama s inauguration, Adam Lambert for looking lanky, Goth, and gay on American Idol, and Michael Jackson for having (excess) plastic surgery and (increasingly) lighter skin. While all of these people have (or had) vocal talent, they are (or were) criticized not for their voice but for their appearance. They have fine (aural) faces for radio but face criticism when appearing on (visual) television; they emphasize why video may have killed the radio star. Dr. Tony Adams Ph.D.. Northeastern Illinois University, Communication, Media, & Theatre, 5500 N. St. Louis Avenue, FA240, Chicago, tony.e.adams@gmail.com ISSN (print)/issn (online) # 2010 National Communication Association DOI: /

3 Communication Teacher 147 Video Killed the Radio Star *written and recorded by The Buggles in 1979* occupies a significant place in television history. Lamenting a lost, pre-television time, the song*and its corresponding video*kicked off the cable Music Television (MTV) channel in In 2000, the song returned as MTV s one-millionth video. Many popular artists have covered the song (e.g., The Presidents of the United States of America [1998], Erasure [2003], and Ben Folds Five [2005]), and parodies such as Internet Killed the Video Star, and YouTube killed the TV Star continue to mourn a former, technologically desirable era. The title and lyrics of Video Killed the Radio Star (VKRS) epitomize Marshall McLuhan s (1964) intricate aphorism The Medium is the Message. A staple of many communication courses, the aphorism not only suggests that the technology used to convey information (the form) is just as important as the information conveyed (the content), but also that technology influences human interaction and interpretation in unique, often-unnoticed ways. I created this activity out of a desire to more effectively teach the The Medium is the Message. In particular, I wanted to better illustrate (1) how media promote certain kinds of audience engagement, (2) how sight and sound influence the interpretation of a text, and (3) how new types of media (e.g., television) can reframe older media types (e.g., radio). I find that this activity not only helps students learn the logics that aural and visual media possess as media, but also how media influence messages*and message interpretations; media qua media affect interaction and interpretation just as much as what the people using these media say and do. The Activity This activity usually takes 3040 minutes. An audio and video recording of VKRS are the only required materials. These can be found in most any music store, online music databases (e.g., itunes), or on popular video websites (e.g., YouTube.com, mtv.com). First, I play VKRS and ask students to take notes of what they find themselves doing and/or thinking about while listening. I then ask students to watch VKRS and, while watching, take notes of what they find themselves doing and/or thinking about. In order to complement these self-reports, I observe how the students listened and watched. I spend the remaining class time discussing the following questions: (1) How does listening to VKRS differ from watching it? (2) Why might video have killed the radio star? I use these questions to motivate a class discussion on the meaning and purpose of The Medium is the Message, particularly how aural and visual media (e.g., radio, television) work as media as well as how different media influence message- and meaning-creation.

4 148 Communication Teacher This activity could also work in groups. A class could be divided into three groups. One group s task could be to observe other students activities while listening to and watching VKRS; another group could focus on how listening and watching VKRS differ; and another group could have the task of discerning reasons why video may have killed the radio star. Groups could then discuss their observations separately, and then share these observations with the class. Debriefing As mentioned, I observe students as they listen to and watch VKRS. While listening, I often notice students looking around the room, reading the newspaper, or taking notes on the listening experience; they have no perceptual focal point or activity on which to attend. However, while watching, I often notice students focusing on the screen; the images seem to capture their attention. I find these observations a good way to begin discussing The Medium is the Message, particularly how different media make for unique kinds of audience engagement. Furthermore, while I initially thought that students would pay more attention to the lyrics while listening to VKRS, many say they listened to the lyrics while watching. If this rings true for a particular class, then it becomes possible to talk about radio as background noise, as a medium that may exist but not (willfully) attended to: a medium that invites hearing rather than listening. Television, by contrast, captures and holds attention through the use of image and light. Consequently, the medium may invite more listening than hearing. I then ask students for observations about listening and watching. Many say that imagination of the song s lyrics happened more when listening, as they could conjure up personal, private images of what the song was about. By contrast, the image seems to shut down students ability to imagine the song s happenings; the video significantly guides interpretation. These observations make it possible to discuss how radio can be referred to as the theatre of the mind, as a medium that invites and utilizes imagination. When I ask about why video may have killed the radio star, students often say that radio artists, with the introduction of video, had to cater to the visual image. Vocal/ musical talent not only became relegated by sound*the dominant requirement for a radio star*but now by image. The contemporary radio star must function as a radio and video star; she or he must not only sound good but also look good. This observation makes it possible to discuss how radio can be referred to as the ugly person s medium, a derogatory phrase that suggests a person not considered (stereotypically) beautiful may have a better chance of making it in the (non-visual) radio industry than in (visual) television. After discussing differences between listening and watching, and after discussing why video may have killed the radio star, I then turn to how media other than radio and television can influence interaction and interpretation. For instance, I often ask about differences in interpretation when a message such as I want to break up with you happens via different media, particularly (a) on a social networking site like

5 Communication Teacher 149 Myspace, Facebook, or Twitter, (b) in a text message, (c) in an , (d) on the telephone, (e) in a handwritten letter, and (f) sitting face-to-face by a lake at night. By this time students usually have a grasp on how different forms of media can affect media content and, consequently, can describe how interpretations of content (such as I want to break up with you ) change with, and are constituted by, form (that is, the relevant medium). Appraisal I have used this activity eight times since I find it useful because it is familiar and memorable*familiar for using a well-known song and memorable for using audio and visual texts that students seem to enjoy. Furthermore, while I could use any song and its corresponding video to illustrate differences between listening and watching, I find VKRS most relevant because the lyrics not only explicitly speak about how different electronic media (e.g., radio, television) work but also introduce a topical, medium-is-the-message question: why did video kill the radio star? VKRS is thus a short and simple text that can facilitate a complex understanding of how media influence message- and meaning-creation. However, these strengths can be limitations. Students seem to grasp ways radio and television qua media can influence interaction and interpretation, but have a difficult time understanding how other media work similarly. While such a limitation may exist for almost any teaching activity, in that the activity used to understand a (few) concept(s) may be difficult to apply to other phenomena or contexts, I also believe this limitation also speaks to the complexities of McLuhan s aphorism. Furthermore, since the activity privileges aurally- and visually-able students, I find it important to develop alternate, non-aural and non-visual ways of teaching The Medium is the Message. References and Suggested Readings Jones, S. (2005). MTV: The medium was the message. Critical Studies in Media Communication, 22(1), McLuhan, M. (1964). Understanding media: The extensions of man. New York: McGraw-Hill. McLuhan, M., & Fiore, Q. (1967). The medium is the massage. New York: Bantam Books. Ong, W. J. (1982). Orality and literacy: The technologizing of the word. New York: Routledge.